The Final Screws of Sum­mer: Clos­ing Down a Sum­mer of Con­struc­tion in the Wild

As the Season Ends

As the frost be­gins to creep across the leaves and the fire­weed tufts drift like whispers of snow across the land­scape, we find our­selves stand­ing at the end of this year’s con­struc­tion sea­son at Kat­mai Wilder­ness Lodge. This sum­mer brought more than just progress, it de­liv­ered a full dose of what it means to build some­thing real and last­ing in the mid­dle of the Alaskan wild.

Build­ing in the Back­coun­try

There’s noth­ing quite like con­struc­tion work in a place where every nail, beam, and bolt has to be planned for, barged in, and pro­tect­ed from the el­e­ments. We’re not off a high­way or even at the end of a grav­el road—our ma­te­ri­als ar­rive by tide-de­pendent barge, and our peo­ple by float­plane. That means a sud­den wind­storm or an ear­ly fog bank doesn’t just de­lay a de­liv­ery; it can stop the project for days.

Sup­plies are ei­ther stored in ship­ping con­tain­ers or tucked un­der makeshift tarps, and every de­liv­ery is a race against time and tide. If we don’t off­load in the right window, the barge has to pull back, and we wait. Again.

Wildlife on the Job Site

Then, there’s the wildlife. Fox­es with a taste for flag­ging tape be­came a reg­u­lar morn­ing headache. We’d show up to the job site only to re­al­ize that our bright pink bound­ary mark­ers were gone—car­ried off like trea­sure into the brush by our mis­chievous, bushy-tailed neigh­bors. More than once, we caught glimpses of them proud­ly parad­ing our mark­ers like tro­phies.

Moose be­came un­ex­pect­ed in­spec­tors, wan­der­ing through fresh­ly turned soil and in­ves­ti­gat­ing open trench­es with the cu­rios­i­ty of a tod­dler. And in one frus­trat­ing but comedic mo­ment, play­ful wolves de­cid­ed the pow­er line to our new well sys­tem (not yet pow­ered, thank­ful­ly) made for a fine chew toy.

Weather, Work, and Determination

Of course, na­ture wasn’t done test­ing us. For weeks, we watched side­ways rain sweep into un­fin­ished struc­tures. With roofs still go­ing on and win­dows wait­ing in crates, we built makeshift bar­ri­ers and fired up por­table heaters to dry out soaked inte­ri­ors. More than once, we stood in­side fu­ture crew hous­ing build­ings, hands wrapped around ther­moses, watch­ing wa­ter pool where floor­ing would soon go.

But the work nev­er stopped.

Now, the new sys­tems are in. Elec­tri­cal is roughed in. Wa­ter sys­tems are ready to go. The fi­nal screws are be­ing turned into the main­te­nance and crew hous­ing buildings. As we seal the last seams and prep our gear for win­ter, it feels like we’re catch­ing our breath at the half­way point of a marathon.

Preparing for the Next Phase

The cab­ins, those that are mov­ing, will wait un­til lat­er this fall. Demo will fol­low. All that sets the stage for the big leap: con­struc­tion of the new lodge it­self, slat­ed for next sea­son.

This sea­son wasn’t just about ham­mer­ing nails. It was about fac­ing down lo­gis­ti­cal puz­zles that change with every sun­rise, about ad­just­ing plans not just around bud­gets but around bears and tides and fog and frost. It was about learn­ing how to build along­side na­ture, not in spite of it.

Next year, the real trans­for­ma­tion be­gins. But for now, we tuck away our tools, chase down the last few fox-stolen flags, and watch the land be­gin to turn in­ward for win­ter, just as we do. The sto­ry of our new lodge isn’t just one of beams and blue­prints. It’s a sto­ry of na­ture, of per­se­ver­ance, of cy­cles like the weath­er and tides. Of wild in­ter­rup­tions and qui­et tri­umphs.

And it’s only just be­gin­ning.

Book Your 2027 Adventure

The next chapter is already being written. Our new lodge will open its doors for the 2027 bear-viewing season, offering guests an even more comfortable and immersive wilderness experience. Space is limited each year, so we encourage travelers to reserve early to secure their preferred dates.

If you’ve ever dreamed of witnessing Alaska’s brown bears up close, far from the crowds, there’s no better time to plan your journey. Book your 2027 stay at Katmai Wilderness Lodge and be among the first to experience the new lodge and all the wild beauty that surrounds it.